Description:A customer sent me this photo of the Bamboo House Chinese restaurant in Prince George, BC. It was formerly the Outrigger and as you can see, they've kept much of the decor intact. I've heard lots about this place but I've never seen a picture...wow! Too bad it a day's drive from here.

Wow is right! I've only seen lamps like those in postcards, but never hung vertically like that. It's quite an effect, especially in that cavernous A-frame. In my postcards of the Chin Tiki in Detroit, The Hawaiian Cottage in Cherry Hill NJ, and the Kon Tiki restaurants of Cleveland and Dallas, those lamps are hung horizontally and appear singly. Your restaurant looks like an untouched time-capsule from the 1960s. I'd love to see more!

On 2006-01-23 15:35, Tikiwahine wrote:That is so cool Pepe, maybe we can convince SDT & TA.MKB to stop by if they drive out for an event.

Prince George is quite a bit off the Edmonton-Vancouver route, so it would have to be something really special to make the detour worthwhile. I think I'd rather expend the extra time and money on a side trip to Victoria and/or Seattle.
_________________-Sweet Daddy T.
Because crap doesn't buy itself.

Been doing a bit of research on the way to adding this to Critiki... looks like the Northern Health Authority still calls this place the Outrigger Restaurant (they get a "moderate" risk rating, btw), and their business license appears to have both names of Bamboo House & Outrigger... perhaps the name change is fairly recent?

Good one Humu...the internet explorer!
At the first photo I thought, because of the wide angle used, that it might be pretty small, but when I saw the guy painting the A-frame, it's really decent sized.
So who's gonna go???

Aaaw...liked the B&W better. But hey, it's still there, it still has the Tiki mask and post, and the interior looks quite original too! I like how the rock walls seem not to be attached to the A-frame (in the B&W). The palm tree looks like it is held up by wires!
TC is so great: I really wanted to see the outside and BAM!, here it is, vintage AND today!

In the original B/W photo, the decorative painting on the A-Frame, the lettering on the roof, and the palm-tree "growing" through the roof really brought the whole facade together into one of the most appealling poly-pop expressions of architecture I have ever seen.

Without those elements, the building looks so ordinary! I bet the original architect would be saddened at how his vision has been diluted.

On the other hand, Thank God so much is still there! And like you said, bigbro, the interior looks pretty pristine. I bet the bottom-most spindle on the column rotted out from the yearly snows and was either kicked loose or was finally sawn off. I'm happy the mask is still there. The column needs to be re-painted according to the old b/w photo.